Chancery
by Kura-sama
Summary: Kagome is fataly wounded by Kikyou. An unexpected savior nursed her back to health, while she deals with the pain of Inuyasha's betrayal. Will another hanyou steal her heart? Wait, why is a certain youkai interested in obtaining her too? NarKag, SessKag
1. Saved by the Devil

**Update: May 5, 2008.**

I have decided to edit this since I noticed a few grammar and spelling problems in the story. Some sentences were changed, and some formatting was edited as well. I am working on the next chapters so hopefully I should have updates within a few weeks. _Serendipity_ is on temporary hold while I focus on _Chancery_.

Summary: Kagome suffered a fatal wound inflicted by Kikyou. An unexpected savior nursed her back to health, while she deals with the pain of Inuyasha's betrayal. Will another hanyou steal her heart? Wait, why is a certain taiyoukai interested in obtaining her too? Nar/Kag/Sess

Rated for Violence, might have adult content in future.

Disclaimer: Inuyasha belong to Rumiko Takahashi and respective producers. I claim no ownership of characters or plot references to Inuyasha. Any original material belong to me and may not be reproduced without permission. (This disclaimer applies to all chapters of this fanfiction, and will not be repeated each chapter.)

First published: August 19, 2004.

Basic terms you must know to read the story:  
hanyou: half demon  
youkai: demon  
taiyoukai: literally means greater demon  
shikon no tama: jewel of four souls

"Blahblah" - Dialogue  
_/Blahblah/_ - thoughts

- - - - - Scene change  
_Italics_ - flashback scene

Chancery  
- _The shaft of the arrow had been feathered with one of the eagle's own plumes. We often give our enemies the means of our own destruction. - Aesop (620 BC - 560 BC), The Eagle and the Arrow_

Chapter 1  
Saved by the Devil

* * *

Drip. Drop. Drip. Drop.

She listened to the rhythmic chime of her blood hitting the water, soft and hypnotic.

_/Is this my end ...?/_

She watched the diluted pink swirls her blood made in the calm waters of the lake, waving about in a languid dance.

_/What is my purpose here? Was there a purpose at all?/_

She had sacrificed her comfortable normal life to trespass in a time where she did not belong, tied and burdened with a sense of duty for shattering the jewel and by the unrequited love she had for her hanyou companion.

_/I am such a fool.../_

Where had it gotten her? She gave and gave, tolerated and suffered emotional turmoil again and again, and for what? Look where it had landed her, all alone, slowly bleeding to death while the one she loved abandoned her to pursue her murderer.

_/I am nothing in his eyes. Nothing! The second **she** appears it's like I don't exist anymore!/ _

She gave a bitter laugh, which choked off into a cough as she spit up more blood. The gaping wound in her side has long since became numb, the deep lashes which covered her body no longer throbbing with pain. She felt weak, too heartbroken to feel frightened. She was calm, silently waiting for her death; she saw no meaning to her life anyway.

_/I should have left, I should have gotten the hint when he left me for her again and again. I thought to stay as a shard detector, to help gather and right my mistake, but even that little bit of usefulness seemed futile in trying to elevate my status in his mind. I will always remain a shadow, second best, to be looked upon like a photo when the original isn't around./_

She thought back to the incident which landed her here, discarded like a ragged doll when the owner is no longer interested.

- - - - -

_"Inuyasha! A shard, that way!" Kagome pointed, feeling the telltale pull on her senses. There was also an equally telltale pull on her soul, alerting her to the fact exactly who was around._

_"What are you waiting for? Let's go!" She barely managed to grab on to his back as Inuyasha took off. Miroku, Sango and Shippou following on a transformed Kirara._

_They rushed in the direction which she pointed, lead by Inuyasha with his typical hot-headed way of charging into battle. However, they soon felt that something was off as the shard seem to moved further and further from them, drawing them somewhere. Usually, demons with shards would charge towards them in seek of more shards._

_Then Kagome sensed something amiss behind her, and turned back to see ... nothing. No fire cat carrying her friends was following them, no trees, no land. Immediately, she whipped her head back to warn Inuyasha of the situation, only to feel herself falling to the hard ground as the hanyou abruptly came to a halt and straightened up tensely, letting go of her. Without Inuyasha bending down to provide her with a slope to lean on, and his hands to support her legs, she could no longer hold on to her position on his back._

_She was just about to ask why he stopped so suddenly, when she saw **her**. She stood regal in the midst of gray nothingness, looking straight at the hanyou who had dropped her._

_"...Kikyou..." She heard Inuyasha's pained whisper. He was intently staring at Kikyou, seeming to have forgotten about everything else, and of course, had forgotten her._

_"Looking for this, Inuyasha?" Kikyou asked softly, holding out a jewel shard, the shard which Kagome had felt._

_"It's a trap, Inuyasha! Don't go to her!" Kagome yelled at Inuyasha. She tried to run to him, to shake him and make him see her. But that was not to be, as Inuyasha and Kikyou moved further and further away from her no matter how hard she ran._

_As she ran, Kikyou's soul stealers rushed at her, leaving behind deep lacerations as they whipped against her. Kagome kept running, ignoring the burning pain as they kept coming at her. Then Kikyou's dead gaze turned to her, as she raised her bow to aim an arrow._

_With a triumphant smirk, she let it fly, tipped with dark miko energy. "Goodbye, my dear reincarnation." she said, as the arrow zipped past Inuyasha and tore into her side. Inuyasha did not even flinch as the arrow whizzed past him._

_The dark energy gave deadly boost to the arrow, which went right through her flesh, leaving a deep hole and charred flesh in it's wake. Kagome crumpled to the ground, unable to withstand the onslaught of pain and dizziness from loss of blood._

_Kneeling, one hand pressed against the wound in her side while blood effused through her fingers, she could only watch as Kikyou turned her attention back to the hanyou and beckoned him. Inuyasha started to move forward, but suddenly stopped as his nose twitched._

_"Kagome...?" he mutter softly, confused at the scent of blood floating around him. The heavy scent of it managed to drag him out of his unnatural haze for a moment, but he could not make sense of anything through the deep fog his mind was enshrouded in._

_"Inu...ya...sha..." Kagome tried to scream, but it only came out as a broken whisper. She stretched out her bloodied hand towards her love in desperation, hoping against hope that he would turn around, that he would not abandon her._

_Inuyasha's head started to turn, but was stopped by Kikyou's voice._

_"Inuyasha, don't you love me?" She said, voice filled with affected sadness._

_"Of course I do, I've always loved you, only you, my Kikyou ..." Inuyasha's attention was once again focused solely on the object of his first love, Kagome flung entirely out of his bewitched mind._

_"Then come to me, my love. Why do you leave me alone to wander these lands in despair as you go to my reincarnation?" She demanded, accusation colouring her words._

_"No, Kikyou, it's not like that! She just tags along as a shard detector because she thinks it's her duty to restore the jewel, since she's the one who broke it!" Inuyasha exclaimed, desperate to appease his past lover._

_Behind them, Kagome witnessed the torturous proceedings with tear filled eyes. _/Am I truly only of such little value to you? Inuyasha.../

_Out of nowhere, dark tentacles burst out from behind Kikyou to wrap around her and drag her backwards, away from Inuyasha._

_"Inuyasha!" Kikyou screamed, holding out a hand to him._

_"Kikyou!" Inuyasha roared and leaped after her, unsheathing and brandishing Tessaiga as he went._

_Kagome watched as he left her to die, watched as he completely obliterated her from his mind because the original was around. She could almost hear her heart breaking, resounding crack by resounding crack. _

_Crippled and crushed, she fall on her side to the ground. As they left her sight, the grayness around her cleared to show a small lake surrounded by trees. She had fallen slightly over the edge of the pool, her blood trickling down her arm to send ripples across its tranquil surface._

/**How could you**, when you have sworn to protect me. **Damn **you, Inuyasha!!/_ She screamed in her mind viciously._

/How could you .../

- - - - -

Her hot tears followed the path of her blood, running down her cheeks in fiery streams. Soon, she began to lose consciousness. She let her mind shut down, slowly being taken over by blessed darkness.

_/Goodbye, everyone. I'm sorry .../_

However, before she could fall into the welcoming embrace of eternal slumber, she felt a slight breeze and swish of fabric by her face. Strong hands lifted her up gently, cradling her against a masculine chest.

_/Who ...? Have the angels came to claim me?/_

Using the last of her strength, she forced her eyes open.

Fiery red eyes, midnight black tresses, billowing against a darkened backdrop. The sight that greeted her sight caused her a momentary pause to rethink her earlier assumption. Then she cracked a cynical smile at herself.

_/No, it seemed that even the devil himself has pitied me./_

With that thought, she gratefully succumbed to the darkness taking over her, and knew no more.

* * *

Wow, there was a few really bad typos in there. Hope I got all the pesky little errors out of the way. There was some minor sentence structure changes but nothing too drastic. I don't think I am going to change anything related to the plot, so if you have already read this, there is no major need to reread it.

I actually feel like the writing style is kind not that great, now that I reread it. Oh wells ... hope any new stuff I write will be better.

Now, before you start thinking I'm going to write another Inuyasha going "I love you Kikyou, I don't care about Kagome" cliche, it's not going there. After the edition the hint is a lot clearer; Inuyasha is not in his right mind when this happened. Something was affecting his mind.

Hope you liked the story. Any reviews are very appreciated.

- Kura


	2. Kagome!

To Hawking (and anyone else thinking similar things):

My spelling of Kirara is correct, I spell it the way it is supposed to be in Romaji, because I watched the entire anime in Japanese. Even though it is written as Kirara, "r" in Japanese is pronounced differently from "r" in English; it sounds more like an "l" but it's written as "r". Japanese language do not have "l" in it.

On a side note, my spelling of things such as Tessaiga is also the Romaji way. The English translation spelt out the whole thing, even though Romaji would not have; writing it as "Tetsusaiga", when it is supposed to be a silent "tsu". Ryokossei is a silent "tsu" too.

Thank you **Very Much** to all the reviews, I'm touched by the overwhelming response.

Terms to know:  
youki: demonic energy  
jyaki: evil demonic energy

**Update: May 5, 2008**  
This chapter has been edited.

Chancery  
- _Many that live deserve death. And some die that deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then be not too eager to deal out death in the name of justice, fearing for your own safety. Even the wise cannot see all ends. J.R.R.Tolkien (1892 - 1973), The Lord Of the Rings, Book Four, Chapter One _

Chapter 2  
Kagome!!

* * *

"Kikyou!!" Inuyasha yelled as he bounded after her swiftly retreating form. He was so absorbed in following her that he failed to notice the receding grayness around him. He was only intent on one goal: to save Kikyou.

Soon he found himself in a small clearing where Naraku's tentacles held his Kikyou in the air as the dark hanyou laughed tauntingly at him.

"You BASTARD!!" Inuyasha roared as he charged head-on without another thought, severing the tentacles flying at him along with the one that held his former love.

In moments, all that was left of Naraku was the wooden doll with which he created the puppet of himself. Before the puppet disintegrated, Naraku's fading voice left him with a troubling message.

"So, you have traded one miko for another ... I will take good care of the one whom you have abandoned."

Inuyasha looked at Kikyou, confusion written all over his face. "What did he mean?" He wondered aloud.

"It is nothing, my love." She soothed, walking closer. "You only need me. Come to hell with me, as you promised."

"Yes, Kikyou, but first I must gather the Shikon no Tama and destroy Naraku. Please, will you spare me some time?" Inuyasha's tortured voice pleaded with her, he could not just abandon everything that he had been working for. He had started to view this quest as his duty, just as going to hell with Kikyou was his duty. He had commuted himself to do both, and could not just abandon one for the other.

"Then I will wait, if you must, Inuyasha. I shall wander this troubled land until you are free to be with me for eternity." Kikyou said coldly, turning to leave.

"Wait, Kikyou! Join us, you'll be a great help and I'll be able to finish this faster. Kagome won't mind, neither wil-- Kagome!!" He was suddenly reminded of Kagome's strange absence. Immediately, he lifted his nose to the wind and tried to sniff out her scent.

He felt his body turn to lead, his heart turn to ice, as he distinguished the heavy scent of Kagome's blood. In fact, he was shocked he had not notice sooner, it was everywhere!

"**KAGOME!!**" He howled in fear as a sharp stab of pain laced through his heart. Faster than the eye can follow, he raced off in the direction of the scent of her blood.

Left to eat his dust, the dark miko's hand tightened around her bow in anger as her eyes narrowed in malice. The abused wood in her hands squeaked angrily in retaliation, before finally losing the battle and snapped in half.

"You will pay for daring to leave me, my dear Inuyasha."

- - - - -

Inuyasha stared in stubborn disbelief at the blood soaked earth and the lake tinted pink with Kagome's blood. He could not believe that he had stood so close to where her body must have been, and had not noticed her injury.

His eyes narrowed in seething hatred when he caught the foul, lingering traces of Naraku in the air mixed in with Kagome's sweet blood, barely noticeable amid the stench of blood and death.

Falling to his knees in agony, he clawed at the red-tinted earth mindlessly.

_/Kagome, Kagome, Kagome, **KAGOME!!**/_ He chanted in his mind as a single hot tear made its way down one deathly pale cheek. _/No, you can't be dead. You can't leave me, you said you'll always be with me. No! NOO!! I REFUSE TO BELIEVE THIS!!/_

_/I have failed you, just like I failed Kikyou. I'm so sorry ... please don't leave me. I need you .../_

In his anguish, he failed to sense the slight youki of the soul stealers, nor did he hear the soft 'thump' as Kikyou landed behind him.

"Inuyasha, you do not need my copy. I am here." Kikyou tried to persuad him in a deceptively loving tone.

Crazed with his rage and heartache, Inuyasha whipped around to growl accusingly at Kikyou.

"You! You set this up with him, didn't you! Where is Kagome!! Give me back my Kagome!!" Inuyasha's vision clouded with red, his mind hazed over with animalistic instincts; he could no longer see the clay doll whom he claimed to love, all he could see was an enemy who had tricked him into failing. An enemy who caused him to lose the most important, precious being in his life.

For the first time since her death and resurrection, Kikyou felt true fear. She was utterly afraid of this crimson-eyed Inuyasha with jagged youkai markings who pinned her with a stare full of hate and blood-lust.

"Inuyasha?! What is wrong with you! I am Kikyou, the one you love! Forget about my reincarnation, she is nothing! I am the one who matters! Have you forgotten the love we have shared? The promise you made me? Come with me, Inuyasha, so we may be together for eternity!" Kikyou cried, growing desperate as his feral growls increased in volume.

"Give. Me. Back. My. Kagome." He snarled with deadly precision, advancing towards Kikyou with deleterious intent.

"I don't know where she is! Naraku took her, go hunt him if you must!" Kikyou decided it was too dangerous to try to convince Inuyasha in his current state. She called upon her soul stealers who immediately wound around her to lift her away.

"This is not over, Inuyasha. I will never let my reincarnation have you, you are **mine**."

- - - - -

Inuyasha crashed through the forest, following the faint scent of Naraku and Kagome's blood. However, it only seemed to go in circles, infuriating the raged youkai even more.

By now, Kirara and her riders had reached the deafening noise Inuyasha made as he left a trail of destruction in his wake. One look at his scarlet orbs, and they knew something had gone terribly wrong. When they were suddenly thrown into gray nothingness, they had worried something would happen. However, when they were released from the gray into the forest once again to be greeted with the visage of a red-eyed Inuyasha, they started to fear for the worst, especially since Kagome was nowhere in sight.

"Kagome!!" Shippou wailed from Sango's shoulder, tears surging into his bright green eyes and overflowing from the sides as Kirara growled softly in comfort.

"I hope Kagome-chan will be alright." Sango murmured in a pleading voice as she clutched Kirara's back in pain, she did not think she could handle losing another sibling. She had grown to view and love Kagome like a sister during their travels together.

"Me too, dear Sango, me too." Miroku whispered. _/For all our sakes, I hope you are well, Kagome-sama./_

- - - - -

As the shard hunting group worried for the welfare of a very important member of their team, their noise and scent alerted a passing taiyoukai.

_/What is that baka up to now./_ Sesshoumaru mentally growled as he ordered Jaken to stay with Rin. After leaving the usual death threats, he disappeared off to seek the hanyou.

- - - - -

When Sesshoumaru arrived in front of Inuyasha, he was rather surprised at the sight that greeted him. Not that his facial expression ever changed, mind you.

_/So, his demon blood has taken over his mind, again./_

Sesshoumaru leveled his half-brother with a frosty gaze, waiting for him to make the first move. He did not have to wait long.

"Sesshoumaru..." Youkai Inuyasha growled in warning, flexing his claws. "Get out of my way!" He lunged at the taiyoukai, bringing his improved youkai claws up in a deadly swipe.

Sesshoumaru, being the agile and mighty taiyoukai that he was, flashed out of his way with ease to counter with an attack of his own claws from behind. Inuyasha wasted no time in engaging him in battle, choosing instead to leap out of the way of Sesshoumaru's attack and continued to track Kagome.

Slightly puzzled, Sesshoumaru watched him go as he turned to regard his traveling companions who had landed some ways away from them during their brief acrimonious encounter. Regarding them with a questioning gaze, he stood where he was in silence. The great lord would not stoop so low as to require from humans.

"Sesshoumaru-sama, our friend Kagome-sama has gone missing. We are not sure what happened exactly, but now Inuyasha has gone into youkai rage and we do not know how to help him." Miroku tried to explain in as placating a voice he could master, with as little tremble in his voice as possible. He had heard much about this ruthless youkai who destroyed everything and everyone who dared to stand in his path, and his past encounters with him had not been pleasant.

_/I see, all this over a mere human girl? Indeed, how you have fallen, Inuyasha. Father would have been proud./ _He thought cynically, thinking back to when their father had fallen hard for the human princess who was Inuyasha's mother. It was the turning point in his life which lead to the great Inu no Taisho's ultimate downfall, in Sesshoumaru's eyes.

Then, the wind shifted slightly, and brought the nauseating sweet scent of a human's blood, a lot of it. Sesshoumaru disappeared in a blink of an eye, leaving the confused humans to grab on to Kirara's back as she lurched in the same direction.

"Kagome's blood ..." Shippou whispered in terror, clutching on to Sango's shoulder with a white-knuckled grip. All three of them paled, as Kirara tried her best to fly to the source of the sickening scent even faster.

- - - - -

_/It would seem that Inuyasha had failed to protect the miko who followed him./ _Sesshoumaru's non-existent esteem of his half-brother dropped even lower. _/Such a worthless hanyou, not even being able to protect those he chose as his pack./_

Picking up a newer, more prominent scent of Naraku coming from the direction he left his ward, his eyes flashed momentarily red as he disappeared again before the others got there, with one thought on his mind.

_/If you dare touch her, I will tear you apart piece by miserable piece./ _

- - - - -

Kirara arrived soon after the taiyoukai left so abruptly, her riders swallowing hard at the blood covered clearing.

"Oh...Kami-sama..." Miroku's knuckles turned white as he tightened his fist around his staff. Sango had ran off to empty her breakfast into a nearby bush, while Shippou had promptly fainted. He would have acquired a nasty bump on the head from a close encounter with the hard ground as he fell from his perch on Sango's shoulder, had Kirara not caught him.

Then Kirara seemed to sense something off in the distance, and set off with a soft growl of command to her human companions. After a short walk, they arrived at another clearing. This one had a broken bow resting on the grassy floors.

"Kikyou." Sango growled, her dislike of the undead miko multiplying countless times as it turned into burning hatred. If she had been youkai, she would have followed in Inuyasha's footsteps and went into youkai rage. As it was, she was near exploding with pent up aggression.

"Sango, save your anger for later. Right now, the most pressing issue is locating Kagome-sama, and controlling Inuyasha before he hurt someone or get hurt." Miroku said calmly, but with an undertone edge of steel.

* * *

Here's what happens with everyone else while Kagome's busy dying and Naraku busy ... saving her? Well, Sesshoumaru's now in the fray, and everyone can guess what the 'she' of his thoughts were, right? It should be more obvious now after the edition.

After reading my old writing over ... I feel like some of the language is kind of in the tone of a parody at moments. I think I read too many cliche fics and didn't even notice when I was feeling sarcastic while writing. XD

I forgot if Miroku calls Kagome "Kagome-sama", or if he calls Sango "Sango-sama" or "Sango-chan" in the anime. If anyone remembers, can they please let me know so I can change it to the correct way of address? I just remember that Sango calls Miroku "Houshi-sama" and Kagome calls Miroku "Miroku-sama". Do they all call Shippou "Shippou-chan" or does Miroku call Shippou something else? I know Inuyasha just say Shippou or sometimes brat etc.

Reviews are highly appreciated.

- Kura


	3. A Different Approach

Author Note:

There's too many episodes for me to remember exact timelines of events. If any of the original events that I mention does not fit, please disregard and forgive me. (PS: I'm roughly up to episode 130 ish of the anime, up to just after Naraku gained a new and better body and killed Kikyou. So North American viewers who had not seen up to there, and not sure about events I might mention, sorry about that! But I don't think you need extensive knowledge of the anime to understand my fanfictions. Not exactly sure what, if any, events I might mention.)

PS: I was made aware in some reviews that Sesshoumaru's thoughts were a bit confusing, I apologize for that! Though, there shouldn't be too much confusion as the story progresses, and all will be revealed!

Chancery  
_- No evil can happen to a good man, either in life or after death. - Plato  
- Every sweet has its sour; every evil its good. - Ralph Waldo Emerson _

Chapter 3  
A Different Approach

* * *

_/Rin!!/_

That thought resounded through Sesshoumaru's mind, as he materialized in the clearing where he had left her with Jaken and his two-headed dragon. However, there was no sunny girl to run up to hug his leg, nor was there anyone else to greet him.

The tattered bodies of Jaken and Ah-Un, as Rin so innocently named the dragon, lied on the bloodied ground lifelessly. Signs of desperate battle were obvious throughout the surrounding foliage, charred patches testified Jaken's attempt to use the Staff of Heads, while burnt gorges in the ground were left from Ah-Un's energy beams.

Pulling out Tenseiga, he narrowed his eyes at the imps crawling over their bodies. With a couple of confident swipes, they were turned into dust as the bodies healed and once again breathed. In moments, Jaken and Ah-Un were awake.

"Sesshoumaru-sama!! Forgive this lowly Jaken, for he has failed you!!" Jaken prostrated himself at Sesshoumaru's feet immediately, ready to face his master's wrath.

"Jaken, where is Rin." Sesshoumaru demanded calmly, but Jaken could detect the underlying rage and threat.

"That wind witch of Naraku's took her! I was not able to defeat her!! I -" Jaken's screechy pleas were cut short as Sesshoumaru sent him flying with a swift kick.

_/Naraku ... how dare you touch what is mine, **again**! /_

Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed in fury as he followed Naraku's left over traces of jyaki, intent on regaining what is rightfully his.

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As Sesshoumaru came closer and closer to the origins of the jyaki, he inevitably encountered the crazed Inuyasha, also intent on regaining what he considered as his. The hanyou turned youkai was no longer just frenzied and in rage, he was beyond infuriated at his incapability of locating the ones he hunt.

When he leaped headlong into Sesshoumaru's path, the two enraged youkai regarded each other with unconcealed animosity. Without any words, they charged at each other.

Inuyasha's incoherent mind only registered that this hostile youkai had again stood in his way, therefore his animalistic instincts commanded him to attack and remove this obstacle.

Sesshoumaru merely thought to put his half-brother out of his current state of near insanity; he felt it was an insult to their blood. Besides, they were still brothers by blood despite all that had been said and done. Furthurmore, he could not chance the possibility that he accidentally hurt his Rin while in this condition now that Naraku also had her.

Gracefully, Sesshoumaru called forth his venom whips from the fingers of his right hand, not bothering to use Toukijin against Inuyasha who was only using his claws. Even in his youkai form, with enhanced speed and reflexes, Inuyasha was still not up to the taiyoukai's superior speed and skills begotten from long and arduous training.

Sesshoumaru effectively avoided all of Inuyasha's rash and unplanned attacks. Seeing blatant openings, Sesshoumaru retaliated with attacks of his own which were meant mainly to subdue, not to kill. He had never been truly serious in trying to kill his half-brother, always holding back during their past encounters.

At first, it had been a brutal blow to his pride that Inuyasha was able to wield a sword that he could not. He had been careless to let his youkai rage take over after the momentary lapse in his control after getting the shock of his life when a mere human girl managed to pull out the sword which neither him nor Inuyasha could. The price was the lose of his left arm when he turned into his true youkai form, and was taken by surprise at the power of the unfamiliar sword.

After he had tried again and again to obtain the sword to sooth his indignant pride, his view of his hanyou brother had changed slightly. He actually managed to feel approval towards Inuyasha for appearing to master the fang sword their father meant for him to have. Then he had learnt that it helped subdue his youkai blood, acting like a seal to stop him from being taken over by the blood like he was now, causing him to discard the idea of taking the sword for himself. By then, he had understood their father's true purpose for giving Inuyasha the fang, which was not favourism of one son over the other. He had also seen the value of Tenseiga, somehow seeking comfort from the cheerful little girl whom the sword brought back.

Turning his attention back to the battle, Sesshoumaru twisted out of the way of another of Inuyasha's attack and moved behind him. Inuyasha had been weakened by the toxin in his whip, causing his movements and reactions to become slower. Before Inuyasha could turn around to block his strike, Sesshoumaru had effectively knocked him out with a sharp blow to the pressure point at the side of his neck.

He spared an indifferent glance to the companions of the hanyou who had just arrived who was calling out to him. Leaving them to take care of the now unconscious Inuyasha, Sesshoumaru once again set off at top speed to retrieve his young ward.

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Black. Nothing. That was all she could see and sense.

_/Where am I? What kind of place is this?/_

Kagome tried to move, but felt as if she was floating without a substantial body. She could not feel or will any of her body parts to move, and could not seem to be able to see them or anything else.

_/Am I dead? Is this the afterlife? Heh, its really not at all like what it's cracked up to be. There's no glowing heaven nor flaming hell, or was hell supposed to be freezing?/_

In this strange plane, she seemed to feel detached from her emotions. She remembered everything that had happened, remembered the pain she felt, knew that the pain was still there, but did not seem to actually hurt or care anymore. She felt almost ... peaceful.

_/This isn't too bad ... maybe I'll stay like this forever./_

However, that notion was disrupted as she felt the swish of fabric by her side, and something cool gently stroke her face.

_/What was that?/ _She wondered, unsure of what she was experiencing. _/Was that someone touching me? How could it be, does that mean I'm not dead yet?/_

She felt the coolness leave her face, only to pick up her hand.

_/Wait ... I can tell it's my face and hand, that means I'm really not dead? Or ... can souls be unconscious when they pass on? Do they have to wake up or something? Aww ... my head hurts. I'll stop trying to think now./_

Feeling confused and disoriented, Kagome let her mind relax and once again fell into total unconsciousness.

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"Kagome..." Naraku whispered as he held her hand up to his face, softly kissing each of her fragile fingers. Her hand was so hot it burnt against his lips and hand, but he could do no more to help her fever. He had done all he could to heal her, the rest was up to herself.

"Please live, Kagome." He told her, his voice coloured with unidentified emotions. When he had agreed to Kikyou's plan, he had not thought that the undead miko would injure her this severely. His eyes darkened in anger, she would pay next time they met.

Kagome most probably would not be alive now, had he reached her bloodied form any later. He even had to use one of her shards to maintain her life until her body healed enough to sustain itself. He did not want to use any of his tainted shards, in fear of worsening her condition.

Relaxing his now angry expression back to one of concerned calmness, he returned to watching the strange girl who had continued to plague his thoughts. Before, when he still had Onigumo's heart and feelings for the miko named Kikyou, he had attributed his strange obsession with her reincarnation to their resemblance in appearance. When he had rid himself of that human's heart and emotions, successfully disintegrating any feelings he might have had towards Kikyou. He proved his point by forcing her into his poisonous streams of miasma. [AN: Forgot what it was that she fall into.]

However, that did nothing to lessen his obsession with the young miko with mysterious origins who Kikyou claimed to be her reincarnation. He still always observed her thought the eyes of his puppets when he fought with her companions. Sometimes, he would ask Kanna to show her in her mirror, and he would spend unknown amounts of time simply watching her. What puzzled and alarmed him most was the almost calmness he felt when he was near her, or watching her. Even now, a sense of being at ease with himself that had eluded him ever since ... ever filled him, just by sitting beside her.

When he could not stand the agony of the countless different youkai he contained within himself caused when they fought him, he would always ask Kanna to show her. When he watched her going about her life, the pain would seem to lessen, become more bearable. Sometimes, in the heat of battle, he would still watch her at injuries to himself. Especially when he noticed the absence of hate in her furious gaze at himself.

_/She has got to be the only person in this world who does not hate me./_ He thought cynically.

More times than one, he was drawn to her gaze. Her glare often held anger, for hurting her friends and innocent people. Many times it held accusations, other times pain. Some rare occurrences, he even detected something akin to pity, maybe even sympathy in her eyes, directed at himself. It was those times that his breath seem to catch, and he find himself able to fathom that he actually owned a heart. However, those rare moments are becoming much rarer, with the animosity between him and her friends escalating. He almost regretted having to break what little good thoughts she had of him, almost.

Watching her now, his only wish was for her to survive this feverish state. He could not understand the unease and agitation he felt at seeing her unresponsive and weak like this, but he knew he wanted her to live. He knew she would just go back to her friends and continue hunting him, but at least he would be able to continue watching her warm light from the pits of his dark hell. Maybe, just maybe, he would be able to redeem himself, just a tiny little, by basking in her pure radiance.

He was not too sure why he wanted the power of the Shikon no Tama at first, he could only guess that it was the greed of all the youkai which he was made up from which drove him to his behaviour. Often he would lose himself to the conflicts of the stronger entities inside himself, those that managed to keep a tiny bit of their own conscience when they were absorbed. As he became stronger, the conscience of 'Naraku' become clearer, and he was able to exercise more control over the emotions that he felt, no longer so heavily influenced by the residue desire and hatred from the youkai he had absorbed.

Now, part of the reason for the jewel was to finish what he started. The other, more important part was to make himself whole, so that he no longer have to stand the torture of being hanyou. The youkai within him often fought his control, especially on the day when he had to become human. It was excruciating on those days, not that he would let anyone know. He could no longer stand his current pathetic existence, and the only way to really exist freely was to make himself a true youkai with the jewel, instead of the collage that he was now.

Most importantly, he recognized Kagome as the focal point which cleared his mind where the true thoughts of 'Naraku' was concerned. He knew his infatuation with her was solely and entirely the thoughts of 'Naraku', the new entity created from the mash of various youkai. When he thought of her, he had no worries of losing himself to the seething youkai within him. When he thought of her, he could almost block out the other raging thoughts not his own that were constantly in his mind.

_/I don't know **what** will happen to my mind if you disappeared forever ... Kagome./_

* * *

Erm, I don't know what to think of this chapter. Hopefully, you now have an understanding of my view of Sesshoumaru and Naraku for this fic, especially Naraku. Instead of just seeing him as the 'Villain' of the anime, I tried to create a different view of who he is and what made him. I don't remember anything truly "evil" that he did, he did kill a lot, or cause a lot of deaths, but it was not solely his doing. If there was not already doubt, greed, and hate in the people he manipulates, it wouldn't have been so easy for him to succeed. As for trying to get the jewel, there's only so few that does **Not** want it. If you were made of a bunch of blood-thirsty greedy demons, you'd probably end up like him too. 

I hope you understood what I tried to convey about his personality! - He's an entity that was created from a bunch of others, thus often he would be influenced by the other entities that made up him, and it's not pleasant either.

-Kura

PS: Remember, I have an update mailing list [Should know where to find URL by now ... XD]

-Just in case you don't: On my author profile page or kura-sama .notifylist .com-


	4. As We Hurt

Chancery  
_- Life is full of misery, loneliness, and suffering - and it's all over much too soon. - Woody Allen_

Chapter 4  
As we hurt ...

* * *

Miroku and Sango dragged the unconscious Inuyasha onto Kirara's back and decided to carry him back to Kaede's village. For good measure, they curled his right hand around the Tessaiga's handle, just in case he woke up and went on a rampage again. 

With Inuyasha out cold, there was not much they could do to locate Kagome. All of the shard hunters prayed sincerely for their dear friend to be safe as they waited for Inuyasha to regain consciousness within Kaede's hut.

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Nearly a whole day since they got back to Kaede's village, Inuyasha was finally jerked out of deep slumber by terrifying dreams of Kagome's death. Upon waking, he was near youkai rage all over again, but his grip on the Tessaiga stopped him. The rest of their little group released a collective sigh of relief that they had enough foresight to place his hand on the sword's handle.

Inuyasha clutched the sword with a death grip, as he took deep calming breaths to force back the red threatening to take over his mind again. He had seen a bloodied Kagome being tortured and torn apart by Naraku, and it was way more than enough to make his youkai blood roar bloody murder and pursue Naraku mindlessly until one of them parished. With the help of Tessaiga, he was able to not succumb to the calling of his blood, knowing that it would be of no help in finding Kagome if he went insane.

"What happened after I lost control?" Inuyasha growled when he had calmed down enough to speak coherently.

"Well, you seemed to be tracking someone when we found you crashing through the forest. We guess it was Naraku?" Miroku took it upon himself to find out what had happened when they were not around.

"Yes ... that BASTARD!!!" Inuyasha suddenly increased his volume, growling his answer in feral.

Miroku gulped, as him and everyone else backed up from the enraged hanyou.

Inuyasha closed his eyes, seeming to remember. In a broken voice full of pain, regret, and guilt, he relayed what had happened to the others.

"No ... Kagome-chan, please be alright." Sango broke into tears as Kirara mewled at her, trying to give some comfort to the distraught taijiya. After the pain of losing her village, her family, and Kohaku in Naraku's hand, she did not think she could take it if she lost her best friend and adopted sister to him too.

"How could you, Inuyasha?! How could you have just stood there, and forget about Kagome just because your undead **bitch** was around?!" Sango screamed accusingly at Inuyasha, who flattened his ears even deeping into his silvery mane.

"Don't you think I ask myself the same thing over and over again?! Don't you think I hurt because the first and only person who had accepted me for who and what I am, the one who taught me the meaning of friendship and love, the one who had always stood by me no matter what is hurt and taken because I **Failed** Her?!!" Inuyasha lashed out at her in anguish and pain, over bright golden eyes reflecting his inner turmoil.

Too pained to sympathize with the one who she saw as the guilty party for Kagome's disappearance, Sango regarded him coldly.

"Then why did you? Why did you not notice her injury, not smell her blood, not remember that she was with you when you saw Kikyou? It was all your fault!!!" Her voice, which started off as a hoarse whisper, steadily grew in volume until she was screaming at him again.

"I don't know! I don't know why or how it happened!" Inuyasha howled in desperation, his guilt growing by leaps and bounds to hear those he considered his friends blame him as well.

"I have failed the one I loved once again ..." Inuyasha let out a broken whisper, claws digging painfully into his palms as he fisted his hands.

His head bowed, Inuyasha let out a heart wrenching whimper.

_/I truly am worthless. I am not deserving of their friendship, nor of her love./_

In a flash of red and a sudden displacement of air, Inuyasha was gone.

Left behind in the old hut, Sango cried into Miroku's chest while Shippou sat sobbing in her lap and Kirara mewling in sympathy.

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After days of trying to track the jyaki of Naraku unsuccessfully, Sesshoumaru finally conceded that he would not be able to find Naraku using his current method. The jyaki had led him on a merry goose chase, going all over the place yet nowhere. The trail was obviously left to confuse and throw off any pursuers. After tracking the slimy hanyou for so long, it was only too apparent that it was near impossible to find him without his consent.

Deciding to try a different, more organized approach, Sesshoumaru returned to his castle and summoned all his runners and spies. They all had one specific order.

Don't come back until they have found Naraku.

Meanwhile, Sesshoumaru continued his own search, hoping Naraku would show himself. Why would he have taken Rin, if not to draw Sesshoumaru to him?

_/I will find you, Naraku. And when I do, you will wish you have never set eyes on what is mine./_

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"What is the meaning of this, Kagura?" Naraku demanded in a deceptively calm voice as he backhanded her viciously into the wall. "I do not remember giving you an order to retrieve her."

Naraku had left Kagome's side to personally prepare more medicine for her wounds, and was shocked to discover the unexpected addition to his dungeons. He had detected a foreign scent in his castle, and went to investigate. Who would have thought that Sesshoumaru's little human girl would be residing in one of his cells without his knowledge?

Regaining her composure, Kagura support herself lightly on the wall. That blow had been hard enough to send her mind reeling, and she felt slightly nauseated.

"I'm sorry. I came upon her, unattended, and just thought that you might want to take her again. You had ordered to take her once before." Kagura weakly tried to explain herself.

_/With that girl here, Sesshoumaru would surely not stop at anything to hunt you down and tear you apart./ _She took care not to let her smug thoughts show on her face.

"I cannot send her back without giving myself away, and he will not take kindly to being fooled. Since the damage is done, she will have to stay here for now. Take care of her needs, I do not need Sesshoumaru going into a rage because his possession has been damaged and come after me right now." Naraku said with a frustrated sigh.

"You have picked a very bad time to bring Sesshoumaru upon us, Kagura." He said darkly, "Is it truly coincidence?"

Kagura's heart would have turned cold at this, if she still had her heart of course. Her eyes widened in fear, previous smugness dissipating immediately.

"Of cou-rse not, Naraku-sama. I would n-not dare." She was slightly stuttering as she tried to defend herself.

"Good, I would hate to have to remind you of who owned you now, don't you agree?" He purred, her heart appearing instantly in his hand as he gave it a painful squeeze.

Gasping in pain, Kagura fought from kneeling over as she answered. "Y-es, Naraku-sama."

Her heart was gone in a flash from his hands, as Naraku left to prepare the medicine he had original came for, leaving Kagura leaning against the wall of his hallway.

_/I will not let you succeed, you bastard! I know you want to have the miko reincarnation for yourself, that you plan to somehow turn her loyalties. I am not stupid enough to let you slowly brainwash her without disturbance. Now that I have taken that little girl, Sesshoumaru will surely hunt you down and stop you before you gain even more power!/ _Kagura's mind raved in hatred as she glared burning holes into her master's retreating back.

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_/Why is it so hot ...?/_

Kagome's first thought was that she was burning, that she felt as if she would suffocate.

_/What is going on? Did I really go to hell?/_

She tried to gasp for breath, but could not seem to control her body. Then she felt a surge inside herself, as if something was trying to escape, to demand release.

_/What was that? It felt ... familiar. When had I felt that surge before?/_

Kagome tried to remember, as a stronger surge pulsed through her again. Strangely, that pulse made her breathing somewhat easier.

_/That's it! It's my miko energy! But why is it acting like this?/_

Before she could make head of tails of what was going on, a third burst of energy seemed to finally break whatever it was that kept it in confines. As her power exploded within her, she was engulfed in an excruciating pain as her blood seem to turn to lava. Her body burned with such an intensity that she was positive she had gone to hell and was suffering for whatever sin she had committed in life.

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Naraku came to a jerking halt just outside the room as he felt the sudden pulse of energy from inside. Eyes widening in surprise, he burst into the room, promptly dropping the medicine and bandages in his arms as he took in the sight in before him.

Kagome was levitated a few centimeters above the futon, eyes scrunched shut and limps thrashing as her mouth opened wide in a silent scream. Her breathing was sporadic and laboured. She almost radiated agony.

At once, Naraku rushed to her side and tried to hold her. However, he was singed and repelled by her miko energy, which covered her body in a faint glow of azure. However, he noticed there were writhing tendrils of ominous dark purple laced through her azure aura. The two clashing energy was fighting each other, causing Kagome to be in such suffering.

Unable to touch her, Naraku could only watch as the girl started to sob brokenly in pain while her power fought what could only be Kikyou's dark energy. It had been poisoning her, restraining her own pure energy from healing her. Now that her body had slightly healed and was no longer on the brink of death, her own power had broken free of Kikyou's and was trying to eliminate it from Kagome's body.

Just as suddenly as it came, all came to an abrupt stop as Kagome gave one last blinding flash before crumpling back onto the futon. Naraku was by her side, enfolding her into his embrace in an instant.

All her bandages are now blood soaked, since she had reopened almost all her wounds during her thrashing. However, she seemed to be breathing better and was now sleeping peacefully instead of remaining in a deep coma. Her body just needed to heal and replace the lost blood.

Naraku gingerly set her back onto the futon, as if she was so fragile she would break at any sudden movement. Then he gathered the medical supplies he had dropped on the ground previously, and set to work on carefully replacing all her bandages.

_/Soon, you will wake. Very soon, we will meet face to face, my dear little miko./ _

* * *

There goes anther chapter! I think I like it ... for now. Hopefully it will continue to be good-ish. Well, hope you people like it too! 

I hope you people don't think Naraku is Too out of character, he's still not a great guy (if his treatment of Kagura's any indication), but then, Sesshoumaru's not the best of people either ;; Obsessions and Love and stuff do strange things to a person ... or youkai ... or anything in between!

And I still retain my (albeit possibly delusional) view of Naraku as not Purely evil. I mean, even pure evil can have infatuations that might develop into just a bit of something more from time to time ... right? Neways, his darker side will probably come about in this other fic that I'm working on, though its hard to find time. (Nar/Kag angst fic)

Thanks for all the reviews, I love you all! 3

- Kura

Mailing list at: kura-sama. notifylist. com


	5. Waking Up

Chancery  
_- Everyone is a prisoner of his own experiences. No one can eliminate prejudices - just recognize them. - Edward R. Murrow _

Chapter 5  
Waking Up

* * *

_/I hurt all over./ _Kagome thought with a mental groan. _/Though, I seem to be more aware of my body now./_

Kagome focused on trying to observe her surroundings with her other senses, as her eyes still refused to open. She felt herself lying on a soft, smooth surface. The air around her felt cool against her skin, which seemed to be burning. She could not hear nor feel anyone around her in what she could only assumed to be some sort of a room. She could feel a familiar aura around the place though, and it was setting her on edge.

_/Where am I?/ _She wondered again, _/How did I end up here?/_

She tried to think back to the events that caused her to end up like this, and felt the pain and anger at Inuyasha's ultimate betrayal pour back into her, almost knocking the breath out of her.

_/That's right, Inuyasha abandoned me to die by the hands of Kikyou. I don't think I'm dead ... so what happened after I passed out? I remember ... someone picking me up./_

Triggered by that thought, an image of a red-eyed devil flashed in her mind's eye.

_/Shimatta! Naraku! Am I in Naraku's hands now?/_

She started to panic, but her physical body showed no indication of her emotional turmoil, the only indication of her hysteria was the now uneven and shallow breathing she had.

Kagome tried to force her eyes open, feeling her eyelids twitch with her effort, but they still remained shut.

_/Chikushou ... Open! You stupid eyes!/_

At last, she could see pinpricks of light between her lids. The vague light grew painfully bright as her eyes opened wider, and she was forced to shut them in pain. Just as she was about to try again, she heard the sound of doors sliding open and someone padding in quietly.

_/Dammit, I can't be so weak while Naraku could very well be right beside me!/_

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Naraku checked on the little girl of Sesshoumaru's briefly, making sure she was well taken care of and moved from the forbidding dungeons into an unused servant's room of his castle. It would not do for her to get sick and die on him, with Sesshoumaru so close on his tail.

Next he went to check and enforce the barriers around his fortress to prevent discovery. Even though the castle moved randomly every couple of days, Sesshoumaru and his runners had gotten too close for comfort a few times.

Satisfied that everything was in order, Naraku returned swift back to the miko's room. He loathed to leave her side, but he must make sure of the smooth running of his castle once in a while. He arrived at her room in moments, sliding open the door and walking to her side.

Naraku noticed that the miko seemed ... different. Something was amiss.

"Kagome?" He called softly, concern colouring his voice. "Are you awake?"

Settling down by her side, he picked up her hand like he always did, whenever he sat by her. Stroking her face softly with the other, he paused at the moisture he felt.

"What has caused you to strain so much?" He muttered, now hearing her uneven breathing and seeing the strained expression on her face.

Kagome forced herself to relax, so Naraku would not know she was indeed awake. She was shocked by his seemingly tender ministrations, caressing her face so gently and innocently. She was also very disturbed by the concern she could detect in his voice.

_/He could not possibly be worried about me, it must be an act to make me let my guards down. I will not fall for it!/ _Kagome decided, her bodying lying unmoving and peaceful as if in sleep. Her breathing had now calmed almost back to normal.

"I guess you're still sleeping ..." Heaving a sigh, Naraku settled back to watch over her again.

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Kagome pretended to sleep for a while, but soon realised that Naraku was not going to leave her side anytime soon. Her body had been gradually waking up since her consciousness returned, and she had regained control of her body. Deciding she could not pretend to sleep forever - her body was starting to cramp up badly - she tried to open her eyes again.

This time, she was successful in forcing her eyes open without any pain. Blinking in the sudden light, she allowed her eyes to adjust. She turned her head toward where she felt Naraku was, and was immensely surprised to see him lodged on a chair leaning to one side, fast asleep, with her hand securely grasped in his.

Not sure what to make of the situation, she took care not to wake him as she looked around the room she was in. The room was spacious, rather dimly lit, with small windows on the wall above her feet. There was only the futon she was lying on, the chair Naraku was sitting in, and a table against the wall behind her head. Since there was not much to observe in the rather empty room, Kagome's attention landed on the slumbering form of Naraku.

_/He looks ... almost innocent in his sleep. Nothing like the evil monster he is when awake./ _Kagome mused, seeing the enemy that her group had been tracking for so long up close for the first time without worrying about her life ... yet.

He was dressed in a the casual traditional wear for males of that era, unlike the more elaborate kimono he wore when they met to fight the times when he was not in a baboon pelt. If she did not know better, she would have thought him to be a peacefully resting human.

Just then, Naraku tipped slightly to the side he was leaning towards, and Kagome could only stare with wide eyes as the great evil fell over off his chair smack onto the floor while still holding her hand.

She turned slightly to watch him as he woke up with a groan, rubbing the side of his head that had hit against the hard wooden floor, letting her hand go in the process. When Naraku groggily picked himself up, eyes half closed in sleepy annoyance, and climbed right back onto the chair after glaring at it as if it was responsible for his fall, Kagome could take it no longer.

Her giggles burst forth and filled the room, while she curled up on her side. Her mind told her she was crazy for finding her enemy funny, but in her current state, she chalked it all up to hysterics. Once she started, she seemed unable to stop, even when Naraku stared at her like she had grown another head after been snapped awake by her laughter.

"You must be more injured than I thought." Naraku muttered as he put a hand against her forehead. "Though your fever seem to be subsiding. I wonder if it burnt your head. Are you sure you're alright?"

Naraku's quizzical expression was almost enough to send Kagome off on another round of giggles, but she managed to curb herself just in time. She valued her life enough that she did not want to be killed right after being saved by her enemy because she laughed at him.

Calming herself, she accessed the graveness of her position. She was injured and weak lying on a bed, in Naraku's castle, with said hanyou staring at her from her side in a mysterious expression. And she had just laughed at him. This was just not her day.

Kagome opened her mouth, wanting to demand why she was here. She worked her throat for a few seconds, before she could produce any sound.

"Eh..." She managed to say. _/Way to go, Kagome! That was just sooo coherent. He understood what you meant just fine. Can you make yourself sound any stupider?/_

"Are you alright? How do you feel?" Naraku asked her instead, his eyes full of concern. Kagome was starting to feel ill at ease under his obvious affection. _/That can't possibly be real, there's no way Naraku would worry about me./ _She reminded herself.

"Uh..." She attempted again; she wanted to kick herself in the head.

"Here, have some water." Naraku put an arm under her and helped her into a sitting position, settling himself beside her, then took a cup from the table and held it up to her lips while supporting her against himself.

Too weak to hold the cup herself, Kagome was forced to let herself drink from Naraku's hand. The feel of the cool water running down her throat was heavenly in her feverish state.

"Good girl." He said after she finished the cup, and set the cup back on the table. Her mouth now moisturized, Kagome attempted to speak again.

"What do you want? What are you going to do with me?" Kagome demanded, but in her weakened state it did not sound nearly as demanding as she would have liked. Indeed, it came out breathless and raspy.

"You sound like I'll do something despicable. Would you have preferred to be left to die?" Naraku asked with a raised brow.

"Yes." Kagome answered curtly, glaring daggers at him. She had regained enough of her mind to remember who exactly she was talking to. With no other outlet for her hurt and anger, Naraku seemed like a good choice.

Naraku's red eyes glinted with an inner glow in the dim light, something unidentified flashed across their depths. Kagome shivered unconsciously when she saw the flash; she did not catch what the emotion was, but it chilled her to the bone.

"Too bad, you are much more fun when you are alive." Naraku said with a curl of his lips in what was not quite a smile. "Rest now, you will see what I have in store for you soon enough."

With that, Naraku settled her back onto the futon and swept out of the room.

Kagome strangely felt as if she had offended him in some way, but could not figure out how.

"Why would I care if I did anyway, he's our enemy." She muttered to herself, but the slight twinge of guilt would not go away.

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Naraku growled softly to himself on his way to prepare some food for the injured girl after leaving her room. When she had so readily stated that she would have rather died than be saved by him, he felt a surge of hurtful anger.

He had watched her and knew her well, better than maybe even her so-called friends, and knew her kind compassionate heart. He had thought she held at least some sympathy towards him from the look she gave him in the past, but he could see now that she really wanted nothing to do with him. To be so abruptly informed that he was the exception from her light had felt like a blow to his gut.

"She is only an obsession, she should not affect me this much." He growled to himself, but somehow it did not feel very convincing at all.

* * *

A whole chapter of Kagome & Naraku ... it was really hard to write. I literally forced it out pass the writers' block so ... hope it's not too bad. (I really can't think of a good response for Kagome to wake up to Naraku ... so I dunno, was that alright?) 

It might take a while for me to update from now on, since School has started and I'm taking 5 AP courses. Just the books are killing me, a bunch of 5 ton bricks (a few of the books weighs literally 5 tons) everyday ... at least I'll get good bicep muscles? If I don't break an arm carrying them? ... ... ...

I'm trying to get next chapter of Serendipity out since that's been put off for so long ... I have half the chapter, but no time to write the rest

Thanks for all the reviews!

- Kura

Mailing List: kura-sama .notifylist. com


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